Over 100 Hollywood celebrities, including Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, have signed an online petition demanding the release of Oscar-winning director Roman Polanksi. Polanski was arrested In Switzerland on a 1978 warrant for sexually assaulting 13-year-old Samantha Geimer.
Hollywood notables such as David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar have also signed the petition asking for the release of Roman Polanski, known for such films as The Pianist and Rosemary’s Baby. Polanski was arrested at the Zurich airport on his way to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. Polanski has stated he will fight his arrest and extradition to the U.S. on the 30-year-old warrant.
“If only in the name of this friendship between our two countries, we demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski,” the petition states. “Film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this,” the petition says. “The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition.”
While we can understand why Woody Allen would sign such a petition, considering he had no qualms about marrying his own adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, we’re a little shocked how many Hollywood celebs are defending a man who drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl and then ran from the country rather than face punishment for his crimes.
It doesn’t matter how famous you are or how long ago the crime was or even that the victim, Samantha Geimer, has said she doesn’t care anymore. Letting Polanski slide would basically just be telling any would-be child molestor/rapist that if you commit a heinous crime and manage to escape punishment long enough, we’ll just let you get away with it. No matter how you slice it, that’s just wrong.
>> Next Up: Swiss Say Hell No to Releasing Roman Polanski on Bail